Why Digital Photography for Dentists?

As a kid, my Mom, sister, and I were constantly aggravated by my Dad's fascination with photography, because he would take FOREVER (it seemed to us at at the time) to compose and take a shot while we were on vacation, or he would want to take a gazillion pictures of us so we'd have to sit there with a frozen grin on our faces while he snapped off a number of shots. Never did I imagine that one day I would do the exact same thing to my own wife and 2 daughters, but that's what happened!

Interestingly, though, it was actually my friend and Charlotte dental colleague, Dr. Ross Nash, who actually got me interested in photography on a more serious level, when I was still a recent grad of UNC-CH School of Dentistry. The memory of seeing Ross' ROOM full of slide books (and yes, I mean it was literally a room unto itself, about 750,000 slides in 2000, I think) is still a vivid one! At the time, though, digital cameras were still too expensive, and the software too difficult to use, for many to use. Like many, I started with a Yashica Dental Eye III film camera; anyone else remember that? LOL

But the advent of the Canon Digital Rebel in 2004 signaled a new beginning, as affordable digital SLR cameras came on the market. That was my first foray into digital dental photography, and my interest and passion since then has only grown. Another colleague and terrific photographer, Dr. Tony Soileau, was key to igniting the fire with his portrait photograpy course for dentists at the Nash Institute. It is now an indispensable and critical part of my daily dental practice, as well as a passion for photography outside the office.

It's been a long journey, though, to learn all that I have, requiring many thousands of dollars in CE, thousands of hours shooting and learning software, and then figuring out how to present and use the pictures taken. Today, I receive emails and private messages from colleagues almost on a daily basis, asking the fundamental questions about getting started, especially through Dentaltown.

The good news, though, is that integrating dental photography into your practice is now easier and more affordable than ever, and what's even better than that is that the software is becoming more affordable and easier to use. It can still be a daunting taks, though, to decide what you need, where to get it, how much to spend, what software to use (your PMS or something else, for example), how to start taking pictures and troubleshoot, how to train your staff, etc.

Over time, I'll be discussing the fundamentals of photography, of DSLRs, and really.....all the whats/whens/whys/hows of using digital dental photography. Follow along, feel free to comment and add your own experience, or ask questions.